Quote:
Originally Posted by rcooled
Back in the day, frame tubes on 917 racers were all interconnected, completely sealed off, then pressurized thru a dedicated valve before each race. A reading was taken afterwards...lower pressure usually indicated a crack that needed repairing before the car raced again. The team almost always found that the 917 frames would develop cracks at some point during a race.
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I remember reading that some of the drivers were worried about driving a car with such a light-weight magnesium frame.
The engineers pressured up the frame with nitrogen and installed a pressure gauge on the dash for the drivers to keep an eye on.
if the pressure dropped that indicated a crack and they would pull into the pits.
But the rumor is that the gauge was intentionally broken and wouldn't show a drop in pressure no matter what.
